VINTAGE FINDS
Vintage toys, including a Schuco acrobatic mouse and a rare Hornby train set, are among more than 400 lots going under the hammer tomorrow at an online Toys & Models, Sporting & Fishing auction at Tennants Auctioneers at Leyburn, North Yorkshire.
A RARE example of Hornby’s first model train is set to spark a bidding war when it goes for auction a centenary after the birth of the famed model railway brand.
An estimate of £400 to £600 has been given to the “extremely rare” O-Gauge Midland Railway goods set, but it could fetch four figures. More than 400 lots are up for sale in tomorrow’s online Tennants Auctioneers’ Toys, Models and Collectables Sale.
Head of collectors department Kegan Harrison said: “It’s as good as you could possibly imagine.
Given its age, it is spectacular. It has almost everything going for it, its condition, its rarity.
“The clockwork key is still in its packet, and the original packing slip, which is dated 11-20, is still with the box. I have never seen an example like this.”
Another eye-catching lot is 5252, a Bassett-Lowke Live Steam “Streamlinia” motor boat with boiler and motor, with an estimate of £800 to £1200. The model engineers were a “bit more upmarket” than Hornby. “Bassett-Lowke is a always a good popular brand,” said Mr
Harrison. “Speed boats are always popular – put the two together and you have something quite desirable.”
The sale also includes a small archive of theatrical ephemera that belonged to Arthur Brough (1905-1978), best known for his portrayal of Mr Grainger in the long running TV series Are You Being Served?
It includes letters, including from Laurence Olivier, Joan Plowright and Sybil Thorndike, programmes, photographs and theatrical ephemera relating to the Leas Pavilion and The Arthur Brough Players and photographs and personal documents relating to Brough’s spell in the Royal Navy. The archive has been kept by Brough’s family since his death in 1978. Its estimate is £500 to £700.
It has almost everything going for it, its condition, its rarity.
Head of collectors department Kegan Harrison.